Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter finally addresses a major dilemma for newcomers considering getting into Falcom's epic industrial fantasy saga. While the Trails series has consisted of different arcs set in different parts of the continent of Zemuria that you could start from, when its overarching storyline and continuity spans titles released over two decades, where better to begin than the very first chapter?

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter successfully remakes the game and brings it in line with the standards of a Trails game in 2025, while preserving its original story. This is not a bloated reimagining--Trails titles have already been well-regarded for having a wealth of text, so it's not like a remake would benefit from more fleshing out--but sticks to all of the original story beats, along with a revised localization that's also closer in style to the Japanese text. There are some new lines too, mostly to fill the silences during exploration, but still not quite the same undertaking of localizing a new script from scratch, which is usually why previous Trails games have taken longer to reach the West.

Just like the original, 1st Chapter begins with 11 year-old Estelle waiting for her father Cassius to arrive home, only to find he's brought with him an injured orphaned boy named Joshua who's also her age. Fast-forwarding five years later, he's part of the family and the pair are following in their father's footsteps to become bracers: heroic warriors serving and protecting their communities by exterminating dangerous monsters and helping with odd jobs. But besides going from town to town in the kingdom of Liberl and doing good deeds to increase their bracer rank, Estelle and Joshua become embroiled in one mystery after another, from political corruption to kidnappings, culminating in a vast conspiracy beyond what they could have imagined.

Assassin's Creed has long focused each of its stories on a central theme. Almost every aspect of Odyssey's main campaign and dozens of side quests deal with legacy, for example, while Valhalla's lengthy story largely centers around fate. Assassin's Creed Shadows is far less defined, with protagonists Naoe and Yasuke's journey across 16th-century Japan primarily being about found family, but delving into revenge and honor as well. Thematically, it's been the weakest narrative theme of the larger, more RPG-focused Assassin's Creed games, muddied by the main story's aimless second act.

Those same problems persist in Shadows' first major story-driven expansion, Claws of Awaji. And while a few changes to the cat-and-mouse formula of pursuing and eliminating targets do make for a more engaging gameplay loop, the persisting narrative issues leave the ending to the DLC, and Naoe's arc specifically, feeling barebones.

Claws of Awaji takes place after the events of Shadows' main story. So if you haven't finished Shadows' campaign and don't want to be spoiled, turn back.

There are so many great co-op experiences to be had right now that my biggest issue isn't finding something to play with my wife or kids, it's finding enough time to play them all. But I'm glad I made the time for Lego Voyagers, because it's the sort of game that is immediately, obviously special, and culminates in a beautiful final few minutes that made my kids and me care deeply for a simple pair of Lego bricks.

Lego Voyagers is a two-player co-op game, so there's no solo mode, nor can you pair up with a bot partner. Played online or--even better--with two players sharing a couch, the game takes only about four hours to go through. But that's time very well spent, I can tell you, after having played it with my daughter and son at different times.

Lego Voyagers stars two minuscule Lego bricks. Both nameless, they're each personified only by their single googly-eye sticker, as well as their different colors; one is blue, the other is red. The simple, wordless story is nonetheless affecting. As the pair live out their lives as neighbors and buddies atop a small island built of Lego bricks, a rocket in the distance can be seen taking off, awakening in them a passion for science and space travel. Heading off from home, the pair go on an adventure to explore this passion together.

A direct sequel to Borderlands 3, Borderlands 4 aims to rectify the various issues of its predecessor--namely, the overreliance on cringe jokes, overly talkative main villains, and bullet-sponge boss battles. And while these issues are addressed, it may have been an overcorrection as Borderlands 4 is cranked so far in the other direction that the resulting game feels like a strange imitation of the series. The core bread and butter of the franchise--rewarding looting and satisfying shooting--remains the same, delivering hours of solid first-person shooter gameplay. The narrative elements, however, are weaker than ever.

Like its predecessors, Borderlands 4 sees you embody one of four playable Vault Hunters, outlaw mercenaries willing to do pretty much whatever, whenever, for money and a chance to uncover one of the many treasure-filled Vaults left behind by a long-dead civilization. Each Vault Hunter possesses unique skill trees and abilities, allowing you to flavor your approach to the game the way you want. Vex the Siren is a summoner who can create ghostly visages of either herself or a fanged beast to attract enemy fire away from her, for example, while Amon the Forgeknight uses advanced tech to create elemental axes, whips, or a shield so he can wade into melee combat.

This feels like Borderlands' strongest assortment of Vault Hunters to date. While no past Vault Hunter has been a truly bad choice, this is the first time that each Vault Hunter feels incredibly useful in all aspects of play, whether it's dealing with groups of everyday enemies, cutting away at larger bosses, or aiding allies in co-op while they focus on doing most of the damage. While I played as Vex in my main playthrough, I didn't dislike my time with other Vault Hunters on new save files.

At around four to five hours in length, calling The Order of Giants bite-sized doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Within the context of the rest of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, however, that's precisely what this DLC feels like.

The base game is at its best when you're dropped into an extensive playground and left to your own devices, whether it's a maze of undulating rivers in Sukhothai or a stretch of desert surrounding the pyramids of Giza. Donning Indy's signature hat and exploring these dense locations is a treat, with each level meticulously detailed and focused on player agency, all while weaving the signature elements of an Indiana Jones adventure into each locale.

Maybe it was naive of me to expect a similar setup in the game's first expansion, but it's still a tad disappointing that The Order of Giants presents a more streamlined experience instead. The quality is still there; it's just missing a few key ingredients.